Actor George Takei blamed “Russian bots” for pushing the sexual assault allegations against him into the public eye, claiming Sunday that the Russians have gone after him before for criticizing Vladimir Putin.

Former male model Scott Brunton on Friday accused the famous “Star Trek” actor of sexually assaulting him in 1981, allegations that Takei swiftly denied, claiming he was “shocked and bewildered.” Takei soon deleted his Sunday statement blaming Russians for bringing attention to the allegations. Takei is one of many Hollywood insiders to be accused of sexual misconduct in 2017, including Kevin Spacey, who Takei emphatically condemned just weeks prior.

“A friend sent me this. It is a chart of what Russian bots have been doing to amplify stories containing the allegations against me. It’s clear they want to cow me into silence, but do not fear friends. I won’t succumb to that,” Takei wrote on Twitter. “By way of background, when I criticized Putin’s anti-LGBT policies publicly, Russian bots attacked my FB page relentlessly, and we had to develop special security measures and ban all traffic from within the Russian Federation and the Ukraine. I am accustomed to their practices.”

Brunton claims he became friends with Takei when he was 23, and one night found himself asleep at Takei’s house after drinking when the actor allegedly began groping his crotch and trying to rip off his underwear. Brunton quickly left the house and the two didn’t have contact for years afterward.

Takei is one of a crowd of Hollywood elites to be accused of sexual assault this year, and one of two gay men. Actor Anthony Rapp, known for his role in “Star Trek: Discovery,” accused Spacey of sexually assaulting him at a party in 1986. Rapp was 14 at the time and Spacey was 26. Rapp also said he was the only non-adult invited to Spacey’s event.

Spacey has since apologized for the alleged incident, claiming that he has no recollection of the event and blaming it on “drunken behavior.” He also used the moment to come out as a gay man.

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